• by Tanya Gazdik , Yesterday

Automakers are spending less on national TV, as seen in data from September, third quarter and year-to-date. 

September 2025 estimated national TV spending tallied $219.6 million, down 8.3% year over year compared to $239.5 million in September 2024, according to iSpot.tv.

Third quarter spending totaled $377.3 million, down 17.1% year over year compared to $455.1 million in third quarter 2024. 

Finally, year-to-date national TV spending through September was  $1.55 billion, down 4.8% year over year compared to $1.63 billion for the same period in 2024.

Household TV ad impressions were also trending downward for all three time periods.

September 2025 household TV ad impressions totaled 18.7 billion, down 13.1% year over year compared to 21.5 billion in September 2024. 

Third quarter household TV ad Impressions were 52.7 billion, down 18.4% year over year compared to 64.6 billion in third quarter 2024.

Year-to-date household TV ad Impressions were 159.9 billion, down 16% year over year compared to 190.4 billion in the same 9-month period last year, per iSpot.tv. 

The top five brands by estimated national TV ad spending for third quarter 2025 were Hyundai ($34.5 million), Toyota ($32.6 million), Chevrolet ($30.3 million), Kia ($27.1 million) and Lexus ($24.9 million).

Sports-related programming accounted for more than 64% of the auto industry’s total national TV ad spend in Q3, led by the NFL (40.5% of total spend), with the MLB in a distant second (4.2%), according to iSpot.tv. 

With the exception of Kia, all of the top five automakers prioritized the NFL above other programming. Chevrolet leaned in the most, allocating nearly 73% of its total Q3 budget to NFL games. Kia, meanwhile, put its biggest outlay toward House Hunters (4.8% of its total Q3 spend), the MLB (4.6%) and Celebrity Family Feud (2.5%). 

The top five brands by share of automaker household TV ad impressions, in third quarter were Toyota (10.91%), Hyundai (9.51%), Kia (8.04%), Chevrolet (7.46%) and Ford (7.22%), according to iSpot.tv. 

The top five brands by share of voice on streaming for third quarter were  Hyundai (12.15%), Ram Trucks (10.23%), Jeep (9.68%), Nissan (7.01%) and Toyota (6.44%).

Three automakers accounted for nearly a third of the industry’s streaming TV ad reach share of voice in third quarter:  Hyundai, Ram Trucks and Jeep. 

While Ram Trucks ranked second on streaming, it was No. 13 on linear; Jeep was No. 3 on streaming but No. 9 on linear. On the flip side, Kia prioritized linear from an ad reach SOV standpoint (it ranked third on linear but seventh on streaming), according to iSpot.tv. 

The most-seen automaker ads by share of household TV ad impressions in third quarter were  Hyundai: Therapist (3.03%), Hyundai: Lawyer (2.49%), Kia: T-Shirt Tripping (1.61%), Jeep: America’s Original Influencer (1.48%) and Chevrolet: Trail Boss Family (1.43%).

The top automaker ads by “likeability” among the top 20 most-seen ads in third quarter were  Jeep: How Summer Rolls (+9.6% more likeable than Q3 automotive norm), GMC: Dedication (+8.3%), Kia: T-Shirt Tripping (+7.8%), Chevrolet: The Heartbeat of America (+6.7%) and Mercedes-Benz: The Philosophy (+6.5%).

The top automaker ads by positive purchase intent among the top 20 most-seen ads in third quarter were GMC: Dedication (59%), Chevrolet: The Heartbeat of America (56%), Mercedes-Benz: The Philosophy (56%), Chevrolet: More Than an SUV (53%) and Jeep: America’s Original Influencer (52%)